Osinbajo Fires DSS Boss Daura

Department of State Services (DSS) Director-General Lawal Musa Daura was sacked yesterday for allegedly denting the image and democratic credentials of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, The DailyBells learnt last night.

Matthew Seiyefa, the most senior director at the DSS, took over the organisation.

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo fired Daura for deploying DSS operatives to lay siege to the National Assembly.

The deployment was considered by the Presidency to be “contemptuous” of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

The DSS was suspected to have worked with some principal officers of the National Assembly “to embarrass the Presidency”.

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Daura is believed to be “very close” to a principal officer of the National Assembly, which has been at loggerheads with the Executive.

The siege to the National Assembly came few hours after Osinbajo brokered an understanding for the lawmakers to reconvene and consider the supplementary budget to avoid a shutdown of the government.

Neither Buhari nor Osinbajo was informed of the deployment of DSS operatives, it was learnt.

The Presidency is said to have ordered Daura’s detention. He is also to be disarmed.

The police and other security agencies were combing Daura’s office and residences as at the time of filing this report last night.

More heads may roll in DSS and other agencies implicated in the siege to the National Assembly.

Daura was consumed yesterday by the political intrigues in the country. He was fired with immediate effect .

Daura was summoned to the Presidential Villa by the Acting President a few minutes before his sack was announced.

He was directed to hand over to the most senior officer of the DSS until further notice.

The Acting President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, in a terse statement, said:”The Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has directed the termination of the appointment of the Director General, State Security Service, Lawal Musa Daura, with immediate effect.

“Mr Daura has been directed to hand over to the most senior officer of the State Security Service until further notice.’’

Daura was joined at the Villa meeting with the Acting President by Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris, who arrived at about 12.35 p.m. Daura got in around 1.15p.m.

Osinbajo described the blockade of the National Assembly by operatives of the DSS as unauthorised.

He condemned it as a gross violation of constitutional order, rule of law and all accepted notions of law and order.

He said that the unlawful act, which was done without the knowledge of the Presidency, was completely unacceptable.

The statement said Osinbajo assured Nigerians that “all persons within the law enforcement apparatus who participated in this travesty will be identified and subjected to appropriate disciplinary action’’.

Daura, 64, was appointed to head the agency on July 2, 2015 to replace Ita Ekpeyong. He worked and retired from the agency before his appointment by Presidnt Muhammadu Buhari.

An unusual security blanket was thrown around the National Assembly Complex in Abuja early yesterday by men of the DSS.

National Assembly employees, legislative aides and reporters who arrived before 7 am met stern-faced operatives who barred them from the facility.

Shortly before 8 am when our correspondent visited the National Assembly Complex, about 20 policemen were at the outer gate, with only very few bearing AK-47 rifles.

At the second gate, the situation was different, with nine masked gun-wielding DSS operatives in black fatigues, along with several other DSS personnel in suits and regular clothing firmly blocking the entrance.

The armed men who also had black face masks and hand gloves carried IMI Tavor Tar-21 assault rifles produced by Israeli Military Industries.

Three Ford Ranger SUVs without number plates were packed in front of the gate, ostensibly to disallow anyone from driving in.

A young man who was making a video recording with his mobile phone promptly stopped after receiving verbal threats from one of the masked DSS personnel who said: “If I catch that your phone now, I go march am”.

Initially, everyone, including senators and members of the House of Representatives were being barred from entering the complex, but around 8am, 47-year old Honourable Boma Goodhead, militant leader Asari Dokubo’s sister, defied the security operatives and became the first lawmaker to enter the complex.

After the entry of Hon. Goodhead, a PDP member who represents Asalga/Akulga Federal Constituency of Rivers State, several senators and House members, such as Reps Teejay Yusuf (Kogi), Kingsley Chinda (Rivers), Agbedi Frederick (Bayelsa), Razaq Atunwa (Kwara) and Joseph Akinlaja (Ondo) entered the facility.

They walked in through the second gate with their Identification Cards (IDs) on their chests. All their vehicles were forced to stop and park outside the gate unlike the usual practice whereby their drivers drove straight in to their chambers.

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